Don't Worry, We'll Get Back To Ogygia
by fangirlsdontdocalm
Summary: Leo and Percy have a heart-to-heart chat about Calypso.


It was a starry night.

Leo Valdez leaned over the edge of his ship, the salty breeze tossing his curls. Behind him, he could hear his friends laughing and the occasional _clink _of a fork against a plate as they ate.

The crew had been shocked when Leo had told them that he didn't feel like eating. After all, Leo wasn't Leo without food.

"I'm not hungry," he'd said.

His stomach had growled.

He had ignored it.

Tonight, even food couldn't provide him with a distraction. He kept remembering the almond-shaped eyes, the pouty lips, the cinnamon scent that he had always associated with her...

His Sunshine. His Caribbean music.

_Calypso_.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut, but he couldn't block his thoughts out. He remembered the taste of goodbye on her lips when she had kissed him, the way she had just grabbed his face and...

"Leo and Calypso's Garage," he said to the sky.

He heard footsteps behind him. It was probably Jason or Piper or even Hazel coming to convince him to eat something, he thought. He was surprised to see that it was Percy.

Percy leaned an arm on the railing, staring straight ahead into the horizon. The two demigods stood in awkward silence. Leo nervously drummed his fingers along the railing.

It wasn't that the two boys weren't close—it was hard _not _to be close after having to fight giants and the Earth itself together. Leo respected and admired Percy, like everyone else, but part of him was intimidated and (he was ashamed to admit this) frightened by the older boy. Their friendship had been off to a rocky start when Leo had accidentally blown up Camp Jupiter, and then there was Calypso...

"So," Percy finally said, without looking at Leo. "How'd you get to Ogygia?"

Leo started. "W-what?"

Percy turned around and observed him with piercing green eyes. "You have met Calypso, right?"

"I-I don't know what you're t-talking about?" he sputtered.

"I'm not as stupid as I look, Valdez."

"I...Alright," Leo sighed. "You caught me. How did you know?"

"You have this look on your face. It's like you're here, but at the same time, thousands of miles away," Percy said.

Leo blinked. "W-was I really that obvious?"

The other demigod simply shook his head.

"Then how'd you know?"

"I just did. You were acting weird, but there was something so familiar about the way you were acting. You seemed like you'd been hurt really badly." Percy gave him a sad smile. "You know, I probably looked the same way you did when I came back from her island. Maybe even worse."

Leo managed a half-grin.

It was probably better this way, he thought. It was probably better that Percy found out. After all, he was Percy. If anyone should know, it should be him. Percy would understand everything...

The boys were quiet for a while. The only sound was of the waves lapping at the ship and that of their own breathing.

Percy broke the silence. "I was wondering, Valdez..." he said, a little hesitantly. "Is Calypso still...still as beautiful?"

Wordlessly, Leo nodded.

Percy suddenly looked very awkward. He turned away, ready to leave. "I-I can go, if you want me to. If you need to talk to me, Leo, just come and find m-"

He stopped, surprised, when Leo reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Wait." Leo's eyes seemed darker than usual. "Can...can we talk?"

Percy nodded, and sat down next to him.

"The island was like a dream," Leo said, talking half to Percy, half to himself. "Too good to be true."

Percy remembered. "Kind of like paradise."

Leo nodded slowly. "And there was Calypso."

"Most beautiful girl you ever saw?" Percy asked gently.

"Yeah," Leo admitted quietly, and a ghost of a smile flitted over his face. "I blew up her dining table, you know."

Percy laughed.

"Gods of Olympus, she was so mad," Leo said wistfully. "She's so gorgeous when she's mad..."

Percy froze mid-laugh. "Calypso...mad?"

"Yeah. Waving her arms around, screaming at the sky, cursing all the gods. Mad."

"Mad at...who?" Percy felt sick.

"Mad at the gods, for cursing her. Mad at me, for landing on her island." Leo turned away from Percy. His face hardened and anger bubbled in his stomach as he remembered the heartbroken look on Calypso's face when she had talked about Percy. "But mostly mad at you. For giving her an empty promise. For leaving her."

"Oh man..." Percy buried his face in his hands. "I'm a horrible person."

Leo immediately felt guilty. "Percy..."

"No." The older boy's voice was muffled. "I was awful to her. I said I cared about her. I cared enough to make the gods promise to release her from Ogygia. And then I forgot about her." He lifted his head and yelled. "I said I cared about her, and I forgot about her!"

"Percy...it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known that the gods hadn't kept their promise."

"But I could have at least checked on her! It's no wonder she hates me..." Percy's voice cracked.

Leo hesitated before gently placing a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Calypso doesn't hate you," he said, and desperately hoped he was right.

Percy shook his head frantically. "You don't understand. When we were in...in Tartarus, there were these _arai—_curses. One of the curses...was from Calypso."

Leo wasn't sure he had heard right. " From Calypso?" he echoed in disbelief.

Percy looked away. "She cursed Annabeth because Annabeth was the reason I left her. Annabeth...she thought I-I had abandoned her, because Calypso felt that I had abandoned _her_." He was shaking. "And I did abandon her. Gods, I'm no hero."

After Ogygia, Leo had been prepared to yell at Percy for breaking Calypso's heart. He had wanted to hurt the other boy for hurting Calypso. But after seeing how broken and upset Percy was, he couldn't do it. The anger had faded, and he felt only sympathy for the older demigod.

"Hey," Leo said quietly. "It's okay. She'll forgive us."

Percy took a shaky breath and nodded.

The two demigods sat with their shoulders touching. They sat like that for a while, staring up at the stars, in a companionable silence, each thinking how own deep thoughts...

"There's something you didn't tell me, Valdez," Percy said, out of the blue.

Leo turned around.

Percy's eyes were sad. "You fell for her, didn't you." It didn't sound like a question.

All the feelings, all the emotions that Leo had kept bottled up for the past few weeks came rushing out. He couldn't stand it anymore. Calypso had said to him, _This never happened_, but how could he pretend that it had never happened, that they had never met, never loved? He bit his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Yeah," he managed to say, barely a whisper.

Percy gently gripped his shoulder. "You broke her heart, but she left you heartbroken, too."

Leo looked down, his dark hair falling into his face. "When the raft came and I finally figured it out—that she loved me and I loved her—it hurt so much. Because I didn't want to leave her." Tears trickled down his cheeks and he brushed at them furiously. "I didn't want to leave my first love."

Suddenly Percy was wrapping his arms around Leo in a tight embrace—hugging him, and Leo was hugging Percy back. Percy was warm, so Leo just let himself cry and hide from the world a little longer.

"I'm s-sorry, P-Percy," Leo sniffled into Percy's shirt. "But I-I need to go b-back for her."

"Don't worry, Valdez." He heard Percy tell him quietly. "We'll get back to Ogygia. I promise."


End file.
